A mural depicting George Washington’s life at a San Francisco high school is fueling an emotional debate. Jean Elle reports.
A mural depicting George Washington’s life at a San Francisco high school is fueling an emotional debate.
The board of educators is considering covering the historic new deal mural that greets students at George Washington High School.
Senior Kai Anderson-Lawson said seeing dead Native Americans and African American slaves working the fields for Washington sets a demeaning tone and it's time for a change.
"It's a lot of emotional stress," Anderson-Lawson said. "One of the reasons it's hard to go to school sometimes is because of the mural in the lobby."
Others however, said it provides an important history lesson and should remain.
"In San Francisco we should be teaching about the mural and what it means," said Donna Parker. "I, as half Native American Indian see no problem with the mural."
Options on the table include covering it with a curtain or panels or painting over it.
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Each option includes environmental review and is expected to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The board is expected to vote on how to address this controversy later this month.
